The Gary Comer Youth Center is a state-of-the-art educational facility located on Chicago's south side. We've had the pleasure of working with the Youth Center over the last few years, and back in 2011 we installed InformaCast, an intricate emergency broadcast solution for their entire campus. You can imagine the excitement when none other than Michelle Obama announced she would be making a stop at the Youth Center in May, while she is visiting Chicago as part of the NATO reconnaissance mission.

According to Chicago's ABC7 News, Michelle Obama will have a lunch at the center for the spouses of NATO members and partners during the summit. No doubt, the special summit event will include some food prepared by students in the center's culinary program and produce grown by students in their gardens.

"I'm really excited because she does a lot of good things with children, and since she came from the South Side she gets to see what we do," said Gary Comer Youth Center student Mariah Duncan.

Given Mrs. Obama's connection to children and the programs she supports, its no surprise that she would visit her old neighborhood and the deeply rooted Gary Comer Youth Center. The building supports a roof garden where students of a culinary-arts class grow fresh vegetables. A cheery exterior welcomes school children while providing a secure haven in a neighborhood known for urban blight and a high crime rate. Inside, a bright gymnasium provides practice space for the renowned South Shore Drill Team and converts to an auditorium that hosts, among other things, some of the drill team’s local performances. A dance room, cafeteria, computer lab, recording studio, and homework areas round out the award-winning multi-use structure. The building, designed by architect John Ronan, has become a center of community as well as one of Chicago’s architectural masterpieces.

IT Resource has long been a supporter of both the Coopersville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Haven Chamber of Commerce. We strongly believe in supporting the communities in which we live and work, and serving on the Chamber board goes hand-in-hand with achieving those goals.

Our Sales Manager, Carrie Borchers, was previously serving the role of Vice President of the Coopersville Chamber of Commerce, but the new year brought a new set of elections and she is now proudly serving as President of the organization.

Carrie is excited to lead this dynamic group into the new year. If you too would like to support the Chamber, get involved today. There are many roles to be filled, so there is surely something to meet your interests. Contact Carrie to become a member today!

This holiday season, IT Resource collected non-perishable canned goods and personal care items for Coopersville Cares, a local organization that reaches out to those in need. We encouraged our employees, customers, and community friends to help us reach our goal of delivering a full box of goods.

We ended up exceeding our goal and were pleased to find out that Coopersville Cares distributed more food in November 2011 than in any month in the 27 years the agency has been in existence. The need for assistance like ours is great. Thank you to those who took the time and spent the money to contribute.

If you are inclined to donate again, they are located at 180 68th Ave, Coopersville. You can contact Jim Alberts at 997-8602.

Our sales manager, Carrie Borchers, was recently named a nominee for two 2011 Athena Awards, which are presented annually to recognize women who demonstrate excellence and creativity in their profession, devote time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in their community, and actively support women in realizing and achieving their full leadership potential.

Carrie was the only woman selected as a 2011 nominee for both the Grand Rapids Young Professional Athena award and the Lakeshore Athena award. She is pictured here with the other 9 Grand Rapids Young Professional Athena award nominees.

In regards to mentoring women, Carrie stated: “At a moment of transition in my life I had a woman I knew from my local Chamber of Commerce take me to lunch, pull out her legal pad and spend two hours with me to help me navigate from Point A to Point B. I will never forget her willingness to listen and to help, for no recognition, just because it was the right thing to do. From that day, I always make time for these types of discussions to help other women because they matter immensely.”

In addition to being a key member of our sales team, Carrie spends a great amount of time volunteering on the Board of Directors for the Coopersville Chamber of Commerce and the Holland Home of Grand Rapids. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Coopersville, Inforum West Michigan, and an active volunteer with the Dwelling Place of Grand Rapids.

As noted by both the Lakeshore and Grand Rapids Chamber officials, the Athena Award program is not a competition, but rather a celebration of excellence where the honor of the award is in the nomination.
Congratulations, Carrie!

IT Resource is full of fun, knowledgeable employees who strive to get the job done right and work with our customers the best we can. We pride ourselves on excellent customer service and superior technical experience, and I believe we deliver that well. Customers and users can rest assured when asking our employees questions or advice, that we’ll produce an educated answer.

Of course we don’t only lend assistance to our customers.... We also host special events like annual golf outings and Grand Rapids Griffins games!

Senior Partner, Leo Reap, poses with Griff at the game.

These events consist of customers coming out and enjoying a game or event while getting to know the employees at IT Resource and learning more about our company.

There is a great chance of networking between everyone involved which definitely leads to positive relationships between people and companies. IT Resource is a great company and group of people to work with... and work for!

As newcomers to the world of blogging, we are thrilled to have an outlet to show the world what we’re all about as a company, and how we operate. As the chief blog writer, I'll be using this resource as a chance to explain to everyone on the World Wide Web what a great company IT Resource is, and how we help our community, customers, vendors, and friends. As an example, IT Resource recently sponsored and participated in the Del Shannon Car Show here in Coopersville, MI. We donated our time and financial energy by passing out raffle tickets, coordinating sponsors, picking our ITR trophy winner at the end of the show, and coordinating various behind-the-scenes activities to ensure the show went off without a hitch.

That's just one example of how our employees work to give back to the communities in which we live and work.

So, I personally welcome you to the first entry of the IT Resource blog and plan to provide you with exciting news & information and the occasional unbelievable IT story. Yes, its true, some pretty interesting and exciting things can happen at an IT Consulting company - like when one of our Chicago customers’ Cisco VOIP system got struck by lightning the day before the 4th of July holiday weekend - that was an interesting day, to say the least. If you've ever wondered what a VOIP system looks like after getting struck by lightning, check it out...

No fear for the lightning stricken customer - we had them up and running again the same day. Have any of you ever experienced a lightning strike or other natural disaster at work? Do tell...